Everything You Are: A Novel Paperback – October 1, 2019

A more haunting book than any I have read in a long time.Braden Healey is a drunk. Not just an alcoholic, but a drunk. He left his family 11 years ago when his wife made a demand he could not live with. As a result of that demand, Braden has memories he canʼt, won't, and refuses to remember.When he was a young boy, as a musical prodigy, his mother took him to a music store to buy him a new violin. By the time he left the store, he did not have a violin, rather a cello and a signed contract with old luthier.Years pass and Braden is a musician of great renown. There is a conflict in his family, which drives him away. He came home when his 17 year old daughter is left alone after another family tragedy, a car accident which killed her mother and brother. His daughter, never understanding the conflicts between adults, is not at all happy to see him, and made that very clear in the most horrible way a parent can face. Both blame themselves for the accident. Are they to blame?After the old luthier dies, his granddaughter, Phee, takes over the music shop. He had taught her everything he knew before he passed, including the details of the contracts. Yes, more than one. She was tasked with looking after the musicians who signed the contracts, as well as continue the family tradition of making and repairing stringed instruments.The consequences of not following through with the contract, in this instance, were the driving force of the book. Phee takes her responsibility to remind those who signed the contracts to live up to them intensely. Other than Braden, there is only one other musician who did not live up to his end of the bargain written about; Braden got off lucky when he broke his end of the bargain. The other person was able to continue to honor his end — Braden got off lucky. Or did he? His daughter became the musician her father no longer was.I read this in one sitting. I did not feel time pass; I was engrossed in this story. I did not get up for anything. I read this book.The characters are engaging, even at their worst. Not all the characters are likeable. One character in particular is not likeable at all (reminding me of several people I have known). I was yelling at the interaction between this character and another. I was angry the author took the easy way out to complete this one storyline, but realize how necessary it was to continue the rest of the story without distraction.Admittedly, I cried at the end. Tears of release, tears of joy, and tears the book was done. Not everything was tied up in a pretty little bow, and the ending for some characters was left for the reader to infer.The tears the book was done was solely because I wanted to know more about this lovely world the author created for us.The author has a firm grip on teenage girls and their thought processes, even if it appears they don't think, just do what they believe is right at the time.The adults are more questionable, but that is part of the joy of the book. We can figure out the teens, but what are the adults up to? Lots of surprises there.The genre of the story is hard to fit. Fiction? Check. Magical realism? Check. Fantasy? I would not say so. I would prefer this book to have the ability to happen. Folklore with a musical background? Perhaps. The music is definitely there. The entire story is about music and those who make it.I would love to say there are other authors a reader may have read who can touch a heart as much as this does, but I cannot.Giving this only five stars seems to be an injustice, and deserves many more. It is obvious the author put her heart and soul into this book, and for that, she deserves more than five stars.Who knew I would love a book about a cello so much?

I read a lot of books but I've never read anything quite like Everything You Are. Perhaps "magical realism" would be an appropriate genre as there is a strong element of the supernatural woven into the plot. Very well written, at times so intense that I had to force myself to keep reading, with flawed but completely engaging characters. I happen to be a hypnotherapist and appreciated the realistic depiction of hypnotherapy. I really wish half-stars were available for these reviews as I would have been happy to give this original novel 4-1\2 stars.

Bravo! Kerry Anne King, Author of "Everything You Are" has orchestrated such an intense, captivating, fascinating, unique, emotional, symbolic and thought-provoking and suspenseful novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Folklore with a Musical Background.  The timeline for this story is in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the events or characters in the story. The author has vividly described her setting and characters leading to a certain pattern.  The author describes her dramatic characters as complex, complicated, flawed and stressed.Can you imagine a musical instrument choosing YOU to caress it, take care of it, and play it? Phee MacPhee has not only inherited her Grandfather's Musical shop, but also some dark secrets and unusual promises. Phee's grandfather claims that he re-built many instruments after World War Two, and they consist of terrible memories during that time. The instruments have a soul, just as music has a soul.  It is Phee's job to ensure that certain people who did sign a contract for an instrument continue to play it, or there could be a devastating effect.Braden Healey was chosen by a cello from Phee's grandfather shop.  Braden had a successful musical career until there was a terrible accident. Braden claims he can't play the cello anymore. His daughter Allie now plays it. Unfortunately, tragedy occurs, where Phee has to find Braden immediately.Kerry Anne's vivid descriptions remind me of "Peter and the Wolf",(Serge Prokofiev) where the instruments tell a story. I can almost choose an instrument for each character, in this story. There is such a magical and mystical feel to this story. There is so much symbolism in this story!!Kerry Anne King describes the importance of facing your problems, seeking help, the importance of family, friends, forgiveness, communication, love, and hope. I highly recommend this thought-provoking story.

An easy read. Very emotional and solid characters. Hard topics done tastefully.A nice tidy ending and would recommend to read.

An ethereal thread weaves through this tale of self-loathing, guilt and regret! As Kerry Anne King developes the plotline surrounding tragic events and the consequences of those elements upon the survivors!The plotline developement is very uncomfortable and deeply disturbing! Frankly, I was ready (in the early chapters) to delete this book. It wasn't something I wanted to wallow through!The premise of the story and the dark thread of mythical enchantments, pushed me to continue, but I started speed reading for a few chapters! The material wa redundant, angsty and boring! About the midpoint of the novel the narrative began to offe hope, resiliency, recovery and support for the long suffering protagonists!The last third of the story was superb! Intervention, understanding and love elevates a depressing manuscript into a mystical and enchanting affirmation of courage, forgiveness and acceptance!Everything You Are is a marvelous and creative accomplishment and well worth the leap into the celestial realm!

This epic novel is everything. All the messy emotions and pain and the joy of a life not so well lived of a brave concert cellist and his daughter and the luthier that must keep him playing the cello or catastrophes will follow.

I really enjoyed this story of Braden and his cello, and his daughter Allie. A great plot, great characters and a satisfying ending. Lovely writing too. My favourite couple of sentences (from p18 so not a spoiler) were "Braden did the math, the number of days from Monday to Thursday divided by the distance between him and the drink he just poured, multiplied by the enormity of his failure and loss. All the calculations come out to the same answer - he is a miserable excuse for a human being." It is certainly different and that's no bad thing in a market filled with similar stories. Great work by the author.

Everything You Are was a great read. The fact that it had a basis in music and obsessive musicians didn't take away from the storyline, even for people not necessarily music oriented. The characters were believable and well developed. It kept me reading and I was driven to find out how it all turned out in the end. Loved it.

On most levels I really enjoyed this book. The characters are realistic and flawed-but-likeable, and it’s told at a good pace, with a good plot. The main themes are of relationships, alcoholism, grief, music, and these are all well written.My problem with it was that I didn’t quite buy into the book’s concept. Phee’s belief in and evidence for the ‘curse’ was the element that underpinned the story, and I just couldn’t connect with that. The correlation between the musicians who stop playing and tragedy was Phee’s evidence, and she persuades others that it’s true. But I just had the phrase “correlation doesn’t equal causation” running through my head in an indignant tone. And I don’t believe in curses: reading about some mystical elements is okay, but this was a bit too much for me.That said, the other key element of the plot is of the mystery surrounding Bradon’s past: what happened all those years ago to move him from ‘involved father and musician’ to alcoholic loner? And what happened between him and his brother-in-law? That element really helped the book to move along.Overall a good read.

Worth a read, full of pathos and the sad truth of damaged relationships. A tale of love overcoming fear. Well done.

This is a beautiful, mesmerising book and a great love story. Not in the conventional way, but a deeper love that transcends what we normally think of as love between two people. It’s the deep passion of music, and an instrument with a soul of its own, intertwined with an age old superstition, a curse, that drives people to lengths they never thought possible. I won’t spoil the plot by telling you what it’s all about, you need to read this book to find that out.